Around the world in 80 Days: Day 11, Quiet Walks

I need to show you how beautiful this sleepy town is. I’m out of the habit now but when I first got here I was taking quiet, early morning walks. We’re talking 6:30, 7:00 start time. My sleep schedule has settled into going to bed at 9 pm or so and waking up at 4 or 5. My friends here are aghast but I actually kind of like it, even though I’m typically evil in the morning even after my first cup of tea. But I’m getting enough sleep and my day fits well enough around the other people here so I’m going to stick with it.

This post is mostly images but when I have a chance to really sit down and write I want to tell you about the people here. They are warm, helpful, and amazing.

This is right outside the front door.

Path to the right of the house.

Still here at the house.

A lighter view outside of my window taken at 6am rather than 4am!

Pano of Onishi from the top of a hill. I may or may not have discovered this hill/view playing pokemon.

Bamboo grove not even a kilometer from the house. I love bamboo. This is enough to make me scream and roll around on the ground.

Put a hermetically sealed cot in the middle of this grove and I will totally live there.

Pano of the path I walk on past the grove.

Mushroom lantern.

This spot is important. I don’t know why. Pokemon may have told me this.

My studio is at the end of this street. Again, we’re talking about 6 am.

Just saw my meaty, sausage hand is at the top of this picture. It’s ballooning up so big that it’s hard to keep it out of the way of the camera.

Onishi has a pretty significant river running around it. The guy that runs the residency, Kjell, is wild about the water. He’s gonna take us swimming in the river soon.

Tofu/soy factory. We have workshop and tour there soon. I. CAN’T. WAIT.

Someone’s pretty rock wall.

A beautiful rice farm. Onishi is having unseasonable rain that is destroying all of the local farmer’s crops. It’s very sad.

Dead cicada. These things are HUGE. Maybe 3 inches from head to wing tips.

Cats everywhere. This one meowed at me like he was desperately stuck under a rock. He eventually came out and meowed at me like he desperately needed something else. I couldn’t help him. 😥 Luckily there are a couple of friendly strays here so I am getting a little cat fix. Ryder said my cats are driving him nuts because I spoil them with so much attention. He’s having a hard time keeping up with their demands! Anyway… more later.

Love,

~S

Hey. You guys know I love you all right? I had no idea it would be hard to keep up a daily blog. It’s very time consuming. The funny ones sometimes take 4 hours to hone and polish. I don’t think I can keep up the daily routine and I might have to go to every other day, especially with art deadlines coming up. I’ll do what I can when I can though! And thanks so much for the wonderful feedback!